Six Sigma Training - Military Overview

Lean Six Sigma is actually already a part of the Department of Defense and U.S. Marines continuous process improvement or CPI efforts. The goal of this process is to enhance the support and maximize readiness and capabilities for combat and war fighting. How amazing is it that such a complex program that was originally developed for manufacturing by Motorola can actually help improve the United States Military and protect our country?

When it comes to using the Lean Six Sigma Process, the U.S. Military is definitely one industry that needs the speed and efficiency of the practice along with the waste elimination. Faster processes tend to be more cost-effective, which automatically creates a cost benefit to any quality improvement projects that are done using the principles of Lean Six Sigma. For this particular industry, efficiency and cost-cutting are always going to be essential parts of the improvement process. In this instance, improving customer satisfaction would ultimately translate to improving the safety and support of the general public in regards to military actions and abilities.

Lean Six Sigma training is by no means easy, and it isn’t simple to translate from civilian business to a military operation. It requires various levels of training and expertise in many different areas of the process and methodology of Six Sigma and Lean principles. Ultimately, once translated and effectively altered by the proper trained professionals, Lean Six Sigma simply serves to support process improvement with a documented, standardized, and easily repeated method. Logistics and supporting roles within the military generally learn and partake in Lean Six Sigma Training. However, operators should also be informed on the process so that they are more accepting of changes and aware of what is going on within their units.

When it comes to Lean Six Sigma in the Military, or in any application, it needs to be understood that it isn’t a solution for everything, but that it can be effective in providing tools and a basic mainframe for problem solving. In business, using Lean Six Sigma can add quality and improve the organization’s bottom line. When it comes to the Military, though, the use of Lean Six Sigma can greatly impact the abilities of troops and allow them to do their job better, which is critical to everyone’s safety.